Prone Recumbancy Aid and Related Methods

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a cushion to assist pregnant women with sleeping in a prone position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/491,180, filed Sep. 19, 2014, entitled “Prone Recumbancy Aid and Related Methods.”

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The disclosed subject matter is in the field of prone recumbancy aids.

2. Background of the Invention

The prone position is achieved when a human body is laid with the chest down and back up. This position is important, if not absolutely necessary, for many medical and chiropractic treatments. Furthermore, a prone position can be a preferred sleeping arrangement. That said, conditions exist wherein the prone position is not feasible. For instance, achieving a comfortable prone position is not possible for pregnant women in various stages of pregnancy. Furthermore, many pregnant women hesitate to lie on their stomachs fearing it will harm the fetus.

The inability to achieve a safe and comfortable prone position can be particularly problematic for pregnant women. Many pregnant women are prone sleepers that are forced to sleep on their side or back during the pregnancy. When a person who is used to sleeping on their stomach is forced to sleep in a different position, it can cause stress and sleep loss. Additionally, when a pregnant woman lies on her back, it can cause stress on her lower back due to the weight of the fetus. Furthermore, a supine position during pregnancy can apply pressure to major blood vessels, which can potentially cause health concerns. Thus, the need exists for a prone recumbancy aid that will help woman in various stages of pregnancy lay on their stomach.

Currently, some prone recumbancy aids exist to assist people with laying on their stomachs. However, these prone recumbancy aids are typically made from foam, upholstery, or other materials that neither adsorb heat nor provide variable support. This can be problematic if someone likes to relax or sleep with a blanket or lives in a warm climate, because excess heat makes it uncomfortable to lie down. In addition to a prone recumbancy aid that helps pregnant women lay on their stomachs, there is a need for a prone recumbancy aid that provides cooling and varying support.

There have been several attempts at creating devices so that pregnant women can lie in a face down position more comfortably. U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,059 to Wall discloses a prenatal body support that allows pregnant women to lie face down. Wall discloses two embodiments: an inflatable embodiment and a foam one. To use Wall's device, a woman rests her head and hips on the device, while her torso fits into a hallow area. This device may alleviate some of the strain placed on a woman's back during pregnancy, but it puts a woman in a position where her hips are above her head and her knees are at a forty-five degree angle. This position may be comfortable in the short term, but is not suitable for long-term or overnight use. This position is also problematic because it does not properly support the spine and other body structures.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,747 to Ellsworth discloses a maternity abdominal cushion. This cushion is essentially a concave foam pillow that fits around the abdomen of a pregnant woman. While this cushion may be comfortable in the short-term, a foam pillow will lack the support a pregnant woman needs to lie comfortably on a long term or nightly basis. Furthermore, this pillow only supports the abdomen and will not provide support to head or the spine of a pregnant woman. Finally, this pillow does not adjust for increasing abdominal size during stages of pregnancy.

Another prenatal prone recumbancy aid is a mattress taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,452 to Lickert. Lickert discloses a mattress with a “fluid-fillable” head rest and a “fluid-fillable” abdominal support for women to use while pregnant. The “fluid-fillable” components are covered in cloth. Like the pillow disclosed in Ellsworth, the “fluid-fillable” mattress will lack the necessary support if a woman is going to lay on the mattress regularly. Furthermore, the use of water displacement for a support pillow does not provide proper distributive support for the user and undesirably increases the mass and weight of the pillow.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,449 to Satto discloses a “prone pregnancy cushion.” The cushion is made of foam and consists of three parts, a head rest, a removable torso section, and a section for the legs. The torso section has a concave depression to accommodate the abdomen. There are three different pieces that can be removably inserted into the middle section of the cushion. Each piece has a different sized depression, to accommodate various stages of pregnancy. This cushion allows women to lie in a prone position during their pregnancy, but the cushion is large and bulky, and contains many parts, making it difficult to store. Furthermore, in order to lie comfortably on the cushion, a woman must turn her head to the side to breathe. This position may be uncomfortable for women who lay on their stomachs for extended periods and does not result in a properly supported spine.

U.S. Pat. App. No. 2009/0100601 to Battagia discloses a foam pillow for use during pregnancy. The pillow consists of two octagonal sections—one for the head and one for the torso. The torso section of the pillow features a hole to accommodate a pregnant woman's abdomen. The shape of the pillow allows women to hug the pillow while lying down for additional comfort. The pillow can be used in conjunction with a heating pad or other heating devices. Despite these features, the shape of the pillow does not provide proper support to the head. Plus, a woman will have to lie with her head turned to the side when lying on Battagia's pillow. Furthermore, while the pillow can be used in conjunction with heating devices, the material does nothing to cool a woman laying on the pillow.

Thus, a need exists for a device that provides long-term support for pregnant women while sleeping on their stomachs, provides adequate support for the head, spine and abdomen, and produces a cooling effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a way for pregnant women to lay on their stomach comfortably.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for pregnant women to alleviate back pain by lying in a prone position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a way for pregnant women to be able to sleep on their stomach for long periods of time.

It is a further object of the present invention to support a pregnant woman's belly while she lies in a prone position.

It is a further object of the present invention to allow a woman to breathe easily while lying in a face down position.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cooling surface to a pregnant woman while she lies in a prone position.

Disclosed is a pillow featuring two openings: one for the head and one for the abdomen. The openings are connected by a spinal support column. In the preferred embodiment, the pillow is constructed from two different materials. The top half of the pillow is preferably constructed from a high density visco-elastic foam with gel cooling properties. The bottom half of the pillow is preferably constructed from a rigid foam. The pillow allows a person to sleep comfortably in a prone position while maintaining proper spine and neck support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the prenatal pillow.

FIG. 2 is side view of the prenatal pillow.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the prenatal pillow.

FIG. 4 is an environmental view of the prenatal pillow that shows how it might be used.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended figures illustrate only typical embodiments of the disclosed assemblies, and therefore, are not to be considered limiting of their scope, for the disclosed assemblies may admit to other equally effective embodiments that will be appreciated by those reasonably skilled in the relevant arts. Also, figures are not necessarily made to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Generally disclosed is a pillow that allows a person to lie comfortably in a prone position. The pillow features two openings: one for the face and one for the abdomen. In the preferred embodiment, the pillow is constructed from two different materials. The top of the pillow is constricted from a high density visco-elastic foam, or memory foam. The bottom of the pillow is rigid, which allows for there to be air holes beneath the head section of the pillow. A more detailed description is made with reference to the figures.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a perspective view and a side view of a preferred embodiment of the prenatal pillow 2. The pillow 2 suitably features two openings 4, 16. The larger opening 4 is configured to accommodate the abdomen of a pregnant woman. The smaller opening 16 is a place for a pregnant woman to rest her head. The two openings 4, 16 may be connected via a spinal support column 12. To the side of the spinal support column are open areas 14 that are configured to accommodate any issues with sensitive breasts that are common during pregnancy. The dimensions of the preferred embodiment may be based on the military standard 1472D (MIL-STD-1472D), which compares typical sizes of American women for human engineering uses. Other embodiments may be available for smaller or larger women.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the depicted prenatal pillow 2 is constructed in two separate sections. The bottom 8 of the pillow 2 is preferably constructed of a hard core foam support. In one embodiment, the top 6 part of the pillow is preferably made from high density visco-elastic foam, also known as memory foam. The high density visco-elastic foam preferably utilizes an open-cell solid structure that matches pressure against it, making the foam supportive, but still comfortable. In the preferred embodiment, the foam is gel memory foam, which can reduce body heat and has cooling properties. While the top 6 section of the prenatal pillow 2 is preferably constructed from high density visco-elastic foam, the bottom 8 section is preferably constructed from rigid foam. The rigid bottom 8 section allows for there to be air flow holes 10 underneath the head opening 16. The bottom 8 section is preferably constructed from a rigid foam, but can be made from any rigid material, such as plastic or wood.

Unlike traditional pillows, this configuration of a soft top and a rigid underside allows for a pregnant woman to lie face down and still be able to breathe easily. When a person lies on the pillow 2, the face fits into the small opening 16. The hard foam bottom 8 allows for a rigid structure that supports air flow holes 10 so they do not collapse when a person lies on the pillow 2. The air flow holes 10 allow for air to pass underneath the face of the person lying face down on the pillow 2. For contrast, when a person lies face down on a traditional pillow, a person will be nearly smothered by the pillow and will eventually have to turn their head to the side. The air flow holes 10 allow a person to remain face down on the pillow 2 for extended periods of time.

FIG. 3 depicts an alternate embodiment of the pillow 2. In the embodiment show in FIG. 3, the pillow 2 also features an adjustable support strap 18 that lies across the larger opening 4. The support strap 18 provides additional support throughout the pregnancy that can be adjusted to accommodate a specific user's size. In the preferred embodiment, the support strap 18 is a durable light weight fabric. In a preferred embodiment, the position of the strap 18 relative to the large opening 4 of the pillow 2 can be adjusted via hook and loop fasteners or other attaching means (not shown).

FIG. 4 depicts an environmental view of the pillow 2 of FIG. 3 and shows how a pregnant woman might lay on the pillow 2.

It is to be noted that appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention, are not to scale, and therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments which are appreciated by those skilled in the arts.

All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawing, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step of” in the clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6 may not be intended as a means plus claim. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of a pregnant user lying in a prone position comprising: obtaining a pillow with two openings connected by a spinal support column, wherein one of the openings is larger than the other and wherein two open areas are provided to a left side and a right side of the spinal support column for accommodating sensitive breasts; positioning the pillow on a flat surface; and, lying on top of the pillow so that the face aligns with the smaller opening, a first breast is positioned in the open area on the left side of the spinal support column, a right breast is positioned in the open area on the right side of the spinal support column, wherein the spinal support column supports and maintains a user's spine while lying in a prone position by supporting the sternum, and the abdomen aligns with the larger opening.
 2. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 1 wherein the top half and the bottom half of the pillow are constructed from two different materials.
 3. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 2 wherein the top half is constructed from a soft, cushioning material, and the bottom half is constructed from a rigid material.
 4. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 3 wherein the top half is constructed from high density visco-elastic foam.
 5. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 3 wherein the bottom half of the pillow features air flow holes underneath the smaller round opening.
 6. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 1 further comprising placing a support strap across the larger opening.
 7. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 6 wherein further comprising adjusting the position of the support strap.
 8. A method of lying in a prone position according to claim 7 wherein the support strap is adjusted using hook and loop fasteners.
 9. A method of lying in prone position according to claim 8 wherein the support strap is constructed from durable light weight fabric. 